The Vicar's Letter (written by Reverend Joy Cousans, Vicar of St Mary's Church in Eaton Bray) has been appearing in the villages Focus magazine since June 2017
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Vicar's Letter

June 2017

Reverend Joy Cousans, vicar of the Church of St Mary The Virgin, Eaton Bray with Edlesborough.

When I moved recently into the Vicarage, people asked me two questions. 'How are you settling in?' and 'Do you like gardening?' If you have seen the size of the Vicarage garden, you will understand why they wanted to know if I have green fingers! It was Candide who said we must cultivate our garden in order to do nothing in it. In my current garden I think that will be a long process. Gardens are spaces that can be beautiful; they can also encourage us to reflect.

Dorothy Frances Gurney wrote that we are 'closer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth.' And it is probably true that gardening keeps us on our knees far more than prayer does. Of course, if we have a garden we need to spend time tending it, and that can be a way of drawing close to God. But there is also much to be said for spending time quietly in a garden in order to seek God's presence. For some spending quiet time in the garden is easy.

For others, it is not really possible. Perhaps you don't have a garden or if you do it is just not a quiet place to be. Or possibly it's hard to sit and relax when the weeds are all around you!

So where else is there to go?

The Quiet Garden Movement celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It was started in 1992 by Revd Philip Roderick, an Anglican priest working in the Diocese of Oxford. It was an idea which had spent many years germinating since Philip's childhood. He was on holiday with his family in South Wales and went for an evening walk alone on the cliff top. He was suddenly aware of a diff erent reality, of the presence of God. He later found out that he had been walking on the site of a monastic settlement. Over the years, his vision of a network of places where people could go to spend time with God grew and developed into the Quiet Garden Movement.

Ordinary people and communities off er up their gardens for others to come and enjoy. They are there to provide a place to relax, to be quiet and to pray. There is now a whole network of Quiet Gardens available to anyone who wants to come and use them, and the movement has spread all over the world. On its website quietgarden.org the movement describes its aims. 'The Quiet Garden Movement nurtures low cost, accessible outdoor spaces for prayer, contemplation, rest and inspiration in a variety of settings such as private houses, churches, schools and hospitals.' The concept is about 'sharing outdoor space for the inner journey.'

Gardens have always been a source of inspiration to people. They are places to go, relax, reflect and be refreshed. I hope you will have the opportunity to come 'closer to God in a garden' this summer.

Joy (Vicar of Eaton Bray with Edlesborough)



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About the Vicar's Letter

The Vicar's Letter has been appearing in the villages Focus magazine since August 2002.

The Rev. Peter Graham also used to publish The Vicar's Letter in the parish magazine of 1964. Please see the area for these.